1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, namely Huntington's Disease (HD).
2. Description of the Related Art
Huntington's disease is autosomal dominantly inherited and is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the IT15 gene on chromosome 4, resulting in production of a long polyglutamine stretch. The disease is associated with progressive and severe degeneration of the striatum and cortex of the brain, and is clinically characterised by a movement disorder, behavioural problems and dementia. The mean age of onset is 40 years and life expectancy is 15-20 years.
The disease is clinically heterogeneous and there are difficulties in the assessment of disease progression in this illness that have led to the need for further methods to be developed to aid the development of therapeutic trials for this disease.